“Huge. Just huge,” Cullen said of the Peace River South MLA’s announcement today that he has left the BC Liberal Cabinet and Caucus because his constituents hotly oppose the HST “and are unhappy with the way in which our government moved forward with this policy.”

“Mr. Lekstrom was an important minister, a recognized leader in Cabinet, and very popular in his riding, which is one of the safest Liberal seats,” Cullen noted. “He’s done the right thing by taking his lead from his constituents and I encourage other Liberals to do the same.”

NDP MPs are strongly opposed to expanding the HST into BC and Ontario and voted against enabling legislation last December. The federal government will begin collecting the new 12-percent HST in BC on July 1, applying it to many goods and services not currently taxed provincially.

This weekend, federal NDP MPs are scheduled to speak against the HST at the national convention of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union in Whistler.

More than 600,000 voters in B.C. have signed a petition intended to strike down the unpopular tax, which is scheduled to be implemented on July 1.

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Comment by BC Mary on 11th June 2010The inside story is told by Jim Scott, editor of Salt Spring News.

There's a run-down on it at my place:

http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/

because there's more here than meets the eye, right away. It's not just the HST. It's also the new assault on BC Hydro. It's also the shocking performance of the premier's chief of staff on the witness stand in the BC Rail Political Corruption Trial.